Iraia is a former municipality in Arcadia

Arcadia

Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...

, Peloponnese, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortynia

Gortynia

Gortynia is a municipality in the Arcadia peripheral unit, Peloponnese Periphery, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Dimitsana.-Municipality:...

, of which it is a municipal unit. It consists of 27 villages. Population 3,063 (2001). The seat of the municipality was in Paloumpa. The municipality is named after the ancient city of Heraia. The region was known in recent times for the building workers (mastori) who came from the village of Servos village and the town of Lyssarea. Pausanias

Pausanias (geographer)

Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...

 in Arcadika describes the ancient flourishing cities of Heraia and Melaineai and their buildings. An excavation near the town of Lyssarea uncovered buildings, mosaics, as well as gold and silver coins.